Spanish-born and trained Tamara Rojo was a dancer with the Ballet de la Comunidad de Madrid when she stunned the international dance world with a gold-medal winning performance at the Paris International Ballet Competition in 1994. Since then she has been principal dancer with the Royal Ballet and now the English National Ballet, where she has also been artistic director since 2012. She will be one of the guest artists at the Queensland Ballet’s season of Kenneth MacMillan’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’.
DA: Firstly, as you are now artistic director of the ENB, how much do you still perform? How do you stay in shape for such a demanding role and also direct a company?
TR: I perform as much as the other principal dancers in the company! I stay in shape by working with a sports scientist and my coach Loipa Araujo, as well as, of course, class and rehearsals every day.
DA: You have been to Australia twice before as a performer, once in 1999 with ENB. What did you perform on that occasion and where?
TR: ENB went to Australia on tour to Brisbane, Adelaide and Sydney. We were performing our in-the-round production of ‘Swan Lake’, and I danced Odette/Odile.
DA: The second time was with Royal Ballet in 2002, when you injured your ankle very badly. Can you elaborate?
TR: I actually developed an infection in my big toe joint, for which I needed surgery – I was operated on in Sydney because I couldn’t walk, as the inflammation in my joint was very bad.
DA: According to reports, the injury was a potentially career-ending operation which changed your perspective on life, your body and dance. In what way has your “perspective” changed?
TR: At that time, it made me realise I needed to have a “Plan B” and that, sooner or later, due to injury or retirement, I needed to embark on a different career.
DA: Have you performed other versions of Romeo and Juliet by choreographers other than MacMillan?
TR: I have performed John Cranko and Derek Deane’s versions of Juliet. Different versions are very much inspired by each other, as Kenneth took huge inspiration from the John Cranko version of Romeo and Juliet, and Derek did the same when he created his own version.
DA: What do you particularly like about the MacMillan version?
TR: Firstly, the MacMillan version has a lot to thank of Lynne Seymour, as it was created on and with her – she’s a fearless woman, with an intense sense of freedom, but also with a necessity to love – and those characteristics you can see very much in the way Kenneth created Juliet, independent but also romantic. Also, the language of MacMillan is so much freer, while still being essentially classical. Until I worked with [choreographer] Liam Scarlett, I hadn’t seen anyone else combine classical technique with that level of freedom of movement.
DA: How do you approach the role artistically?
When I first embarked on performing Juliet, I worked with a British actress (Mary Miller) who helped me go through the text to really understand the character and motivation of Juliet – this is something that I’ve done ever since for every role I dance.
Also, every time I approach Juliet I try to start again without relying on past performances or interpretations. I try and discover my teenage self, and not accumulate too many layers of knowledge.
DA: What are the hardest parts to convey? How difficult is it to dance?
TR: The hardest thing is the moment when you sit in bed and you have no movement at all to express your feelings. It is thanks to Kenneth that I learned how to be still onstage, and that’s something that I’m trying to pass on to the dancers at English National Ballet.
The difficulty depends a lot on the partner you have, as it is mostly pas de deux. The better the partner, the freer you feel.
DA: Is there anything you can tell us that is unique to performing it with Carlos?
TR: The fact that you can completely trust him -- as a partner, he will always be there for you. He is a very committed artist that will be in the moment every time.
‘Romeo and Juliet’ runs from June 27 to July 6 at the Qld Performing Arts Centre.
Read our full article in the June/July issue of ‘Dance Australia’.